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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27131023">insides</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/declantheelynch/pseuds/declantheelynch'>declantheelynch</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Free!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bodyswap, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, men construct intricate rituals that allow them to touch the skin of other men</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:40:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,513</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27131023</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/declantheelynch/pseuds/declantheelynch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>He knew these hands, all of their tendons and veins, the hills and valleys of his knuckles. He let out a deep breath. From the corner of his eye, he saw his figure in their full length mirror.<br/>Ice and adrenaline raced up his spine. The teal eyes staring at him were wide, and they blinked at the same time as him.<br/>This was real. He looked like Sousuke.<i></i></i>
</p><p> </p><p>  <i><br/>    <i>body swap au</i><br/>  </i></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Matsuoka Rin/Yamazaki Sousuke</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Everything was immediately wrong.</p><p>The alarm blaring was the first indication of wrongness; not only was it Sousuke’s, which was bizarre because Rin was always up before it even turned on, but it was also, for some reason, going off directly in his ear.<br/>
The second sign was more vague, just a groggy, blurred awareness of a feeling in his chest that bled into his appendages. It was a kind of heaviness, a foreign weight inside his skin.<br/>
The last was less vague. As he sat up, pain shot through his forehead, ricocheting into his skull. He cried out in shock, the sound dark and guttural in his throat. The shock of <em>that</em> silenced him entirely, forcing his sleepy eyelids open, forcing his gaze to meet the ceiling. The ceiling?</p><p>Then he looked down. He was all bronze skin and muscle and Sousuke’s pajamas.</p><p>“Oh my god,” Sousuke’s voice muttered through Rin’s throat. Or really, that was Sousuke’s too. “Oh my <em>god!</em>” He gasped.<br/>
Frantically, he scrambled down the top bunk, desperately attempting to coordinate his new numb, unfamiliar (yet somehow all too familiar) limbs. His feet slammed against the floor, but he couldn’t feel more unstable. Vertigo rushed through his whole body in a sickening wave, the ground impossibly far from his head. He gripped at the metal ladder, savoring the coolness of its edges. They felt very real in a way he didn’t. He looked at his hands— at Sousuke’s hands. He felt his shallow breath even out as he stared; even now, there was something comforting about seeing them. He knew these hands, all of their tendons and veins, the hills and valleys of his knuckles. He let out a deep breath.<br/>
From the corner of his eye, he saw his figure in their full-length mirror. Ice and adrenaline raced up his spine. The teal eyes staring at him were wide, and they blinked at the same time as him. This was real. He looked like Sousuke.<br/>
<br/>
“Jesus Christ,” he managed to choke out.<br/>
<br/>
He looked at his new reflection, in awe at the actuality of it. Tentatively, he approached himself. He wasn’t sure what exactly he was looking for, it wasn’t like he didn’t recognize it. It was the same long nose and strong jaw and full mouth he’d always known.<br/>
Out of pure curiosity he forced a smile as big and ridiculous as he could manage. Despite everything, delight overcame him at the sight of Sousuke’s dimples, which usually only made an appearance if Rin happened to say something particularly funny. The simple joy of it took hold of him, softening the smile into something more… tender. His normally broody looking eyes, darkened further by impossibly long eyelashes, crinkled with warm fondness, his eyebrows knitting themselves upwards in a way that was so gentle it was almost sad, and his curled lips were still parted, and what the hell is that fucking noise?!</p><p>Instinctively, his head turned to follow the origin of the sound, up to the top bunk. <em>Oh,</em> he thought dumbly. He hadn’t turned off the alarm.</p><p>Reaching up with his right arm, pain instantly seared through him, ripping out a sharp gasp. The immediacy of it was somehow agonizing, the hurt blooming from his shoulder and infecting all surrounding musculature. As the initial pain subsided, he felt something awful settle in his gut, something twisted and ugly.<br/>
It was… shame. And guilt. The feelings physically curdled in his stomach, like that was a body’s perfectly natural response to injury. That clicked the pieces together in his brain.<br/>
He didn’t just look or sound like Sousuke: he was literally in his body. And of course Sousuke would’ve trained his body to feel this way.<br/>
<em>Idiot.</em></p><p>He couldn’t help but feel resentful over Sousuke’s response to his injury, that he hadn’t told him, that he felt this was towards himself. They hadn’t talked about it much since that last tournament, Rin knew it was still a sensitive topic, and knew he wouldn’t have gotten much out of his friend anyway. But it still inevitably broke his heart to know how much he was still hurting, to know he felt ashamed over it.<br/>
<em>Fucking idiot,</em> he thought as he turned the alarm off.</p><p>Though, this meant that Sousuke must have <em>his</em> body. He expected to feel a rush of anxiety, but none came. Whether that was because he wasn’t in his own nerve-prone skin or he just truly didn’t feel concerned was impossible to tell. Really, if he were being honest, if he was to trust anyone with himself it would be Sousuke. His heart suddenly stuttered at the thought.Before he could linger on it, another buzz came from his own bed. For the first time he realized he was alone in their room, that Sousuke had left with his body and hadn’t even brought his phone. Maybe he should be concerned.</p><p>“Shit,” he said as he read the notification, which was a text from Ai. He was asking if he and Sousuke were still on for practicing together with Momo after school. Oh god, school. He looked at the time; 15 minutes until his first class and he had no idea where Sousuke was.</p><p>Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry for much longer as their door creaked open. Rin whipped his head around and was met with… Jesus christ, met with his own fucking face. Even if he consciously knew this was an inevitable meeting, a confrontation with his own self, there was nothing in the world that could’ve prepared him for actually seeing it.<br/>
It was his, and yet it wasn’t. Sousuke wore his features differently than he’d ever knew he was capable of expressing. His eyes had turned into a dark umber, his mouth set like carved stone. He had changed into his uniform (which was a somehow dizzying thought Rin refused to linger on), but his hair was poorly tied back and sweat gleamed from his brow, like he’d been out for a run. He looked—<br/>
Rin couldn’t even think it, embarrassment punctuated by his heart doing an awful, violent twist.<br/>
He wondered why. Was it the shock of seeing himself worn so impossibly well? Of all of Sousuke’s stark, relentless beauty stubbornly taking hold of him? Or… did his best friend's insides always churn at the sight of him?</p><p>He gulped.</p><p>They just stood there, taking each other in for a long moment. Rin couldn’t stand it any longer.<br/>
“You could’ve at least brought a phone with you if you were gonna run off.” He had meant for it to be humored, but it came out curt.<br/>
Sousuke huffed a short breath as he closed the door behind him.“Excuse me for not studying magical-body-switching courtesy,” he replied, crossing his arms and leaning back against the door. Rin’s voice didn’t leave much room for nuance; you didn’t have to guess if he was annoyed.<br/>
Rin’s head involuntarily cocked to the side. “What was that? ‘Cuz it sounded like you were mad at me or something.”<br/>
Sousuke rolled his eyes flippantly, easily.<br/>
“Jesus dude, of course I’m not mad at you. This is just—it’s fucking weird, alright?”<br/>
It was The Understatement of the Century, so fine, Rin could understand callousness. He didn’t say anything immediately, but the quiet rumble of people starting their day out in the hall reminded him that they had at least a whole day to get through.<br/>
“Whatever,” he replied as he dropped his gaze, “we can talk about what the hell we’re gonna do about it later. I need to get dressed.”<br/>
Sousuke nodded, and pushed himself from the door. “You’re gonna want this,” he said, stepping past Rin towards his dresser. After rummaging for a moment, he pulled out his brace. Rin would’ve expected him to just toss it, but instead he walked directly up to him, hand extended. The sudden proximity made him want to back up, but that felt like defeat in some way, so he held his ground.</p><p>“Thanks…” it suddenly occurred to him that Sousuke never got ready with him in the morning; Rin was always up first, usually out for a jog or getting the two of them breakfast, and by the time he came back Sousuke was already dressed. His locker at the pool was also on the opposite end of the room from Rin’s too, so he didn’t see him there either. He had no way of knowing if he wore it throughout the day. He would’ve continued to not know it was there at all if Sousuke hadn’t told him.<br/>
He never mentioned how normal it was in his routine, so Rin wondered why he was giving it to him now.<br/>
“Have you been needing it more?”<br/>
Sousuke shrugged. “Depends on the day, but no not usually, I’m mostly used to it. That doesn’t mean you are, though.”<br/>
It struck Rin as a very considerate thing of him to think of, and he thanked him once more.<br/>
“No problem,” Sousuke said quietly, mouth tugged in a crooked, noticeably not-Rin sort of smile. It was rugged and charming in a way Rin didn’t see coming from himself.<br/>
Handsome. Pretty. He couldn’t silence that observation this time.</p><p>It also struck Rin, startlingly, that Sousuke was looking up at him. They only had a height difference of three inches, but he didn’t realize how much more drastic it seemed when he was the taller one for once. It set off something crazed in him, to see himself gently gazing upward at Sousuke’s face.</p><p>“Is this actually how you see me?” And as he said it, a spark of adrenaline zipped through him. He could’ve just asked, <em>am I really that fucking short?</em> But this was expansive, this had implications.<br/>
<em>Is this how you see me? Is this how you’ve always seen me?</em></p><p>He watched as his own face rippled slightly, eyes shining wildly. With a flush of irritation, he realized just how much his stupid face betrayed everything, his expressions open and bleeding like a wound. It was worse to know Sousuke was the one expressing it this time, his thoughts being broadcasted for once, raw in a way Rin almost never got to see. The vulnerability stirred something in him, a sudden blur of endearment and an ache to see more. Did Sousuke always get this same rush? Was it only because he was in his body Rin was feeling it now, seeing himself as Sousuke would? Or… had he just not been paying enough attention before now? To anything?</p><p>Okay sure, maybe it hadn’t been entirely beyond him that things had felt different when they reunited. Maybe he could feel Sousuke’s eyes on him, maybe some of the things they said didn’t quite pass the threshold of just being jokes, and yeah maybe it was impossible not to notice how handsome Sousuke had become since they were kids, and maybe he secretly liked the thrill of a joke being a little too sincere, and liked the way Sousuke fought for him, protected him, and maybe they were both teetering on the edge of saying something out loud, but… he pushed it away.<br/>
He couldn’t begin to process it, couldn’t stand the instability of it. Sousuke was the one single grounded thing he had amidst so much heartache. He couldn’t have Haru, he couldn’t have his father, but he had his best friend. That should’ve been enough, so he tried to make it enough.<br/>
But this time he couldn’t push it away. It was all around him. <em>He</em> was all around him.</p><p>Before he could spiral for any longer, Sousuke settled on something that looked like a face Rin actually would make: mouth shifting into a smirk, sharp teeth gleaming.“Don’t get used to it. Now hurry up, I don’t want to be late.”<br/>
It doused him with annoyance. “Fine, jeez.”<br/>
Still smiling, Sousuke made his leave, but just as he opened the door Rin remembered—<br/>
“Oh wait, Ai wants to know if we can still practice later.”<br/>
Sousuke tossed his head over his shoulder, “you have an appointment or something?”<br/>
Rin felt the inclination to growl at him. “No, but I kinda feel under the weather though, like I’m not in my own fucking body or something.”<br/>
“Huh. It feels fine to me.” And then he walked out.</p><p>
  <em>Cunt.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>lets fucking GOOOOOOO fuck it writing free iwatobi swim club fic in the year 2020! I've loved free for 5 years now but back in april I reignited that love full blast, so here we are now. I think this is only gonna be 3 chapters long but that might change?? I dont fink so though lol, the rating will probably go up to teen though when I'm finished haha buuut yeah anyway hi thanks for stopping by mwah uwu &lt;333</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sousuke was barely keeping himself together.</p><p>He had to—for the sake of Rin’s reputation—force himself to not completely unravel throughout the day, and he deserved an award for his performance. Playing as Rin was actually easier than he expected it to be, as far as the mechanics went. It was all just charming laughs and a confident stride and the occasional raised eyebrow, all things Sousuke had memorized over time, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t completely opposite from his own nature— on top of the fact that this was a fucking nightmare and he was quietly losing his mind. <br/>
<br/>
He had to act cool when he was finally affronted with Rin, knowing he would’ve freaked out if he showed signs of concern, but this was killing him. It was <em>killing him</em>. The irony of it was so cruel he could’ve laughed; there he was, begging anything that could listen to allow him closeness to his stupid best friend, and he miraculously got exactly what he wished for. Great. <br/>
The images from that morning had engraved themselves into his brain, replaying without his permission: how of course the first thing he did when he finally looked at his reflection was touch his lips, how his own sleeping face looked so much softer and sweeter and somehow younger with Rin inside of it, how he literally had to <em>undress Rin’s body</em>—</p><p>The sharp pinch of his teeth sinking into his lip surprised him out of his thoughts, blood pearling from the new wound. Apparently Rin’s body kept up with its same habits. He noticed that his mouth seemed to permanently taste of iron from how much Rin chewed at his tongue and cheeks and lips. <br/>
It was just another mean reminder of the skin he was now inhabiting. Even if he could block out that morning, block out his feelings, there was no getting around that the hands in front of him, intertwined on top of his desk, were Rin’s. His fingers were long and elegant, akin to bird wings in their grace, locked together neatly. <em>This must be what it feels like to hold his hand</em>, he thought as a familiar ache blossomed in his chest. He pulled them apart.</p><p> </p><p>School couldn’t end soon enough, but it did eventually end. <br/>
Thankfully they didn’t have an actual meeting today, practice had been lax since the tournament was over, so now all they had to deal with was Ai and Momo. Truthfully, he really wasn’t worried about it. For as much as he loved the kid, Momo was frankly an idiot and surely wouldn’t notice if the two of them acted any differently from usual. Ai would also probably be too self-conscious to notice anything either, but even if he did he’d be too polite to mention it. </p><p>Rin was waiting for him outside, leaning against the wall next to the building entrance. It was unnerving to see himself in the third person, arms crossed and expression like stone. But the starkness cracked once Rin noticed him, his face suddenly beaming, all his goodness shining through.<br/>
<br/>
“Yo,” he called easily, stepping off from the wall and matching Sousuke’s strides forward. “How was your day as Matsuoka?”<br/>
“Exhausting,” he said bluntly, causing Rin to laugh in response. “Can’t say I’m surprised.”<br/>
“What about you? How did Yamazaki suite you?” <br/>
“Easy as all fuck, all I had to do was be a brooding asshole.”<br/>
A sudden, instant wave of hurt and aggravation welled in him. Before he could stop himself he asked, “you think I’m an asshole?”<br/>
Genuine surprise flashed across Rin’s face. “What? No— I’m kidding, dude.” </p><p>“Oh.” Well that was fucking humiliating. “I don’t know why I said that.” <br/>
<br/>
Rin shot him a sympathetic glance, which only further inflamed his embarrassment. As if sensing this, Rin said, “not easy being so innately defensive is it?”<br/>
Sousuke felt himself smile over how perfect of a response it was: self-deprecation for empathy, teasing for levity. It was unbearably painful how well Rin knew him.<br/>
And he supposed it made sense why he said it too, he would’ve thought it anyway but the fact that he was in Rin’s body made him say it out loud. He really did worry that people only perceived him as being intimidating or mean. He was just quiet. And tall. He recalled when he first starting training with Nitori, how he seemed so genuinely shocked that Sousuke offered to help. Maybe that was Nitori’s own insecurities showing, touched that anyone would think to extend a simple kindness to him, but it must not have helped that it was him that extended it. The thought left a rotten feeling in his gut, and he quickly attempted to smear it away.<br/>
<br/>
“Are you worried at all for practice?”<br/>
Rin hummed in thought, “I guess not, not really. We managed to get through today without any problems—and I can’t imagine the two of them would put any pieces together.” <br/>
Sousuke laughed in agreement.<br/>
“Though,” Rin began again, eyes suspiciously turning away, “it did just occur to me that we have to… change.”<br/>
<br/>
Sousuke’s heart slammed into his throat. <br/>
<br/>
“What? Can’t handle seeing my dick and balls? After all we’ve been through?”<br/>
“Man, shut the fuck up I’m just saying—“<br/>
“It’s not like you haven’t before—”<br/>
“I’m just saying!” He cried out, but there was laughter in the sound. Sousuke snickered at him, but decided to drop it. “You can just wrap a towel around yourself if it really bothers you. I’ll do it too,” he said, giving him them both an out.<br/>
“Fine, that’s fine.”</p><p> </p><p>When they arrived at the pool, Ai and Momo were already fucking around in the water. It seemed like they were having a breath-holding competition.<br/>
Just as Sousuke and Rin were about to share a knowing look, Momo burst from the surface, gasping like he’d been drowning. Ai emerged soon after, bobbing up with an uncharacteristically smug look on his face.<br/>
“God, Ai you’re a fucking machine!” Momo cried as he thrashed his arms down into the water.<br/>
“Don’t fucking swear,” Rin called out.<br/>
Both underclassmen yelped at the sudden appearance of their superiors. <br/>
<br/>
“Training hard, I see,” Sousuke said through a grin. Momo just laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck while Ai began to spout apologies. “We were just messing around before you guys came, sorry,” he said, guilt gripping his expression. It was actually really cute.<br/>
Sousuke’s smirk softened as fondness rushed through him; while he had only recently become close to Ai, Rin had known him, had been his dedicated mentor and teammate and friend, for much longer. He must’ve been feeling the same affection Rin would feel anytime Ai acted like this, which in turn just sparked his own endearment of Rin.<br/>
<br/>
“At least you won though, that definitely counts for something.”<br/>
Ai sighed into a laugh, visibly relaxing. “Yeah, I suppose so.” <br/>
Momo pouted in the background, “hey, it was actually pretty close! I’d even say it was almost a tie!”<br/>
“Well you two have a fuckin’ rematch while we get ready,” Rin replied with a smirk as he began to walk to the lockers.<br/>
“Don’t drown,” Sousuke seconded as he followed behind Rin, the boys getting right back into it as they left.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“You already know my combination, right?” Rin asked as they entered the locker room.<br/>
“Yeah. You got mine?”<br/>
“Yeah.”<br/>
“See you on the other side, then,” Sousuke said after a short beat. Rin smiled lopsidedly at him, then walked away.<br/>
<br/>
Okay. This was fine.<br/>
<br/>
He opened the locker without issue, startling himself with his reflection in the mirror hanging against the door. He quietly tsked to himself, then turned his attention to Rin’s things. There were about four spare suits and two towels neatly collected together, and Sousuke grabbed the first one he saw of each, not wanting to overthink it, trying to ignore the sound of his own locker clanking open across the room.<br/>
Setting them on the seat, he then brought his hands up to his collar. He swallowed thickly as his fingers hesitated against the top button, his pulse like a live-wire overclocking his heart.<br/>
<em>This is literally fine</em>, he insisted to himself. It wasn’t like Rin’s body was foreign to him, wasn’t like he hadn’t been forced to get used to its constant proximity, wasn’t like he literally had to do exactly this that same morning.<br/>
<br/>
In a frustrated flurry, he threw the shirt up and over his head, turning away from the mirror. He stood frozen like that, shirt balled into his now trembling fists, eyes squeezed shut. With very little grace, he chucked the shirt into the locker, frustration with himself wearing out patience he couldn’t spare. <em>You’re being fucking childish</em>. He scowled at his own brain.<br/>
And as if to prove a point to his judgmental thoughts, his hands began to work at his belt buckle, focusing only on the ordinary mechanics of it. Undoing the button and zipper of his pants would also be easier to do without a towel around him, so he quickly dealt with them too, ignoring the warmth that flushed through his body. Rin blushed ridiculously easily, to Sousuke’s past enjoyment and current demise. God, it would be so embarrassing to leave the room pink and ruddy, for Rin to clearly see what this was doing to him.<br/>
<br/>
But curiosity beckoned his gaze downward.<br/>
<br/>
Red stained his chest, the color bleeding across soft skin stretched over lean muscle. His eyes trailed down the length of his torso, ravaging the sight like a starving animal, landing finally on the pried zipper of his pants, the fabric curtaining the waistband of his briefs.<br/>
He could’ve passed out.</p><p> </p><p>Eventually, the two left the lockers, trying not to avoid each other but also not looking directly at the other.<br/>
“Jesus, about time,” Momo laughed before snapping his goggles in place. Ai bobbed up once more from the water, already doing laps down his favored lane. He looked at Rin questioningly.<br/>
“Sousuke, are you actually swimming today?”<br/>
<br/>
A record scratch practically rang out. Shit. He got so caught up with everything that he forgot that his body couldn’t swim like the rest of them. His stupid, broken body.<br/>
<br/>
Really, after that tournament he shouldn’t even look at water. The freedom of letting go and tearing himself up just for the chance to swim with Rin again had revealed its price soon after. He had lied when he said he didn’t need his brace as often, in fact he needed it more than ever. He just… he really couldn’t stomach Rin knowing that. It was a ruinous mix of embarrassment and shame and guilt and his undying wish to never ever hurt him. He’d suffered through so much already, Sousuke could not bear to be another life lesson he had to learn in any way, in any context.<br/>
Selfishly, he’d broken his facade of strength, of protection that he knew Rin thrived off of for that one race, forcing Rin’s hand to allow him to destroy himself. No matter how many times he insisted to his mind that it was cruel and he shouldn’t have ever been that honest, shouldn’t have ever shown that much vulnerability, he couldn’t deny the thrill of it. After everything, after Rin had left him back when they were kids, after he continued to chase a boy that couldn’t love him the way he needed, Sousuke made him pay attention. Just for once, just for one fleeting moment he made Rin look at him.<br/>
He wished it had been enough.<br/>
<br/>
“Doggy paddle is actually my best stroke,” Rin replied easily. As Sousuke lifted an eyebrow at him, surprised he had a response in hand, Momo shouted, “C’mon Rin, race me! I’ve been practicing my crawl, hurry up!” <br/>
<br/>
Much like how he didn’t have the mental energy to worry about Rin swimming in his body until it was brought up, it hadn’t even occurred to him that— <br/>
He felt lightning flicker between himself and Rin, who must’ve connected the dots at the same time, as his heart did leaps and bounds inside his chest. <em>Oh my god… I can swim again</em>. <br/>
<br/>
The adrenaline pumping under his skin surged him forward, his mouth ripping open into a smile, unable to contain itself. “You better brace yourself, kid,” he tried not to growl as he leapt onto the starting board. Momo just laughed as he got into position, “let’s fucking go then!”<br/>
Sousuke followed suit, making sure to snap his goggles back like Rin did, his smile only growing as he was certain it would annoy him. Rin himself called out something about wanting a good, clean race before counting down.<br/>
<br/>
<em>3</em></p><p>
  <em>2</em>
</p><p>
  <em>1</em>
</p><p>And then he was flying.<br/>
The tips of his fingers sliced through the surface, the water clawing up his arm, the cold embrace of it enveloping him like it missed him.<br/>
His freestyle had never been anything remarkable, but Rin’s was. He could sense the way Rin’s body poured everything into the motion, gliding and ripping and <em>chasing</em> with every twist of his arm and kick of his leg. The energy was so exhilarating, so overwhelming he had to stop himself from gasping. As he moved, he felt his stomach twist with the awfulness of how intimate it felt, of Rin becoming his vessel for his passion, to feel what he felt. It just made him go faster, his motions nearly becoming frantic. He felt suddenly enlightened to Rin’s stubborn desperation; it was like his whole body was screaming at him to hunt. Why wasn’t he hunting him?<br/>
<br/>
Eventually, his hand slammed against the wall after his final lap, the race coming to an oddly unceremonious end. He raised his head up and almost instantly made eye contact with Rin, his expression a tangle of bewilderment and awe and something else he couldn’t quite place. Sousuke didn’t realize his face could be so emotive.<br/>
<br/>
The look quickly dropped though. He held up a stopwatch as he said, “You’re slower than usual.”<br/>
He wanted to say ‘you’re just jealous I can actually swim’, but Rin would never say something like that, at least not aloud.<br/>
“You’re still so amazing to watch,” Ai quickly added.<br/>
“Damn, so you agree I was slow?”<br/>
“What! No, I didn’t mean—“<br/>
“WHAT’S MY TIME,” Momo screamed as he erupted from the water. Rin looked down at the watch. “About ten seconds better, good job champ.” Momo howled victories for himself.<br/>
As Ai chastised him to not let it get to his head, Sousuke stole another look at Rin. He had already been looking back at him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i know its been 8 months since ive had long exposure to teenage boys but im pretty sure they talk like this LMAO its also been a while since ive written like.. someone thinking about someone else carnally FJDKSKF so I hope it wasn't too tame or underwhelming haha hopefully next chapter will be more exciting!</p><p>(also did you clock the small raven cycle reference? sorry ronan, your dialogue is too good to not steal)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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